Tourism Puts Some Back on Job; Less-Skilled Workers Are Especially Helped by Boom

By LESLIE EATON

Published: August 30, 1998

For most New Yorkers, the tourists swarming Manhattan are a source of mixed emotions: amusement, exasperation, even pride. But for an increasing group of city residents, tourists are the source of something much more concrete: jobs.

And many of the jobs are the kind the city particularly needs, jobs for less-skilled workers who might once have found work in factories but have struggled, in recent years, to find any employment.

''Manufacturing used to be where unskilled people could get a start on the rungs of the career ladder,'' said Marc M. Goloven, an economist at Chase Manhattan Bank. ''But as manufacturing has dwindled in the city, perhaps tourism is one industry that will supplant it.''

Jobs in tourism are always vulnerable to economic shifts in the country and abroad. The current economic turmoil in Asia and Latin America could have an impact, for instance. But for now, the city's tourism boom means jobs.

Exactly how many jobs are dependent on tourism is unknown; the most recent figures available from the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau date from 1995, though officials there hope to have more current data by next month. The outdated figure of 131,000 jobs would account for about 4.5 percent of all nongovernment employment in the city.

The actual number of tourism jobs is almost certainly much higher. Employment in ''tourism-sensitive'' industries has increased by about 8 percent since mid-1996 -- much faster than the city's job growth rate of about 5 percent in the private sector. Those tourism sectors have added about 33,500 jobs, for a total of 458,000, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of workers in ''amusement and recreation services,'' which include everything from theaters to race tracks, has jumped by almost 16 percent; employment at museums, botanical gardens, zoos, bars and restaurants has increased at double-digit rates. The number of hotel employees has grown by almost 8 percent in the two years that ended in June.

Not all of these jobs come from tourism; native New Yorkers eat at restaurants, go to museums and attend Broadway shows (except, perhaps, ''Cats''). But tourism is giving these businesses a push, said John L. Wieting, the bureau's regional commissioner. Certainly, the number of tourists visiting the city has soared. Last year, more than 33 million people came to play, an increase of more than 13 percent, and they spent $13.7 billion; the city estimates that with all its ripple effects, tourism added $18 billion to the local economy.

This year, the numbers are continuing to grow, although at a slower pace; the Visitors Bureau forecasts that 34 million tourists will spend a total of $14.3 billion, an estimate that city officials describe as conservative.

By no means are all of the workers catering to these visitors unskilled, said Fran Reiter, the president of the agency, which is responsible for marketing the city to tourists. ''The industry provides jobs at every level,'' she said, noting that the hotel business has increasingly needed computer workers, and that running entertainment and travel businesses requires a lot of management expertise.

But, Ms. Reiter acknowledged, tourism also provides many entry-level jobs for people without much work experience.

Many tourism-related jobs, accordingly, do not pay very well. The average salary at hotels last year was about $32,900 a year, and the average worker at a bar or restaurant, while sometimes making extra money in tips, made less than $17,000 in salary, according to the New York State Comptroller's Office. The average worker in the city made $48,800.

The increase in tourism is probably helping to push up the earnings of all less-skilled workers, because demand for such labor is increasing, said Alan Krueger, a economist who teaches at Princeton University.

And though tourism tends to rise and fall based on economic conditions, the long-term trend is strong, Mr. Krueger said. ''As the rest of the world, with hiccups, becomes wealthier,'' foreigners will become more likely to take vacations, he said.

New Yorkers whose jobs are not dependent on tourism are not all delighted to see their city ranked with Orlando and Las Vegas as a destination. Ms. Reiter hears complaints about everything from crowded sidewalks to Peeping Toms on the double-decker buses. But she is not sympathetic to complaints about tourists. ''They spend $18 billion,'' she said. ''Give me a break.''

Photos: The surge in visitors to New York is credited with spurring job growth and adding about $18 billion to the local economy. (Ruby Washington/The New York Times); VIOLETA McZENO -- A housekeeping job at the Pierre, a hotel that caters to the tastes of wealthy visitors, pays Ms. McZeno more money than she ever made as a receptionist. She is one of five New Yorkers prospering because of the growth in tourism who are profiled on page 32. (Keith Meyers/The New York Times)(pg. 29); TODD WEISSNER -- Guiding visitors through contemporary art works at the Martin Lawrence Galleries in SoHo; VERONICA VALERIO -- Using her command of Spanish to peddle Versace designs to foreigners (Dith Pran/The New York Times); CHARLENE WATSON -- Selling food to tourists at a stand at the pier where the Circle Line departs (John Sotomayor/The New York Times); SILVIO ACOSTA -- Selling double-decker bus tours on commission to tourists milling around midtown (John Sotomayor/The New York Times)(pg. 32)